Myanmar

  • World News

    Hundreds of Thai women forced into prostitution in Myanmar

    There are almost 300 Thai women who have been allegedly forced into prostitution at a casino near the Thai-Myanmar border in Tak province. The story has emerged from a 25 year old escaped victim who wished to remain anonymous. A social media ‘influencer’ did a livestream earlier this year, inviting ladies to apply for public relations and entertainment roles for…

  • World News

    Myanmar’s ex-leader Suu Kyi sentenced to 5 years in prison

    Ousted leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Myanmar, according to an anonymous source with access to her trial, which is being tightly controlled by the junta. The charge was the first of 11 corruption charges filed against her, so her prison sentence…

  • Thailand video news

    Sarong Thai Snack or Fabric? | This is Thailand

    Throughout history, one fashion piece has existed in some form | or other across the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia. It is the “Sarong”

  • World News

    All Thailand-Myanmar border checkpoints closed, massively affecting trade

    Myanmar had closed down all of the checkpoints along the Thai-Myanmar border since April 23. Business owners have cried foul saying that they might lose up to 500,000 baht per day and wanted the Thai government to coordinate with Burmese authorities to solve the problem. After the car bomb exploding on the first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge on April 23, Thai officials…

  • World News

    Ousted Burmese leader Suu Kyi appears in court on corruption charge

    Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically-elected former leader of Myanmar who was ousted in a military coup last year, has appeared in court on a corruption charge. The case is one of multiple cases being brought against her, with the threat of lengthy prison time if she’s found guilty. According to comments made to Reuters by an unnamed source close…

  • World News

    Car bomb explodes near Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge – VIDEO

    A car bomb exploded over the weekend near the first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, on the Myawaddy side of the Thai border, adjacent to Mae Sot district in Tak. Residents in Mae Sot reported they could clearly hear the blast, which happened late Saturday night. An ethnic anti-government Burmese group is suspected to have planted the explosive in a car parked…

  • World News

    Car bomb and gun battle at immigration building on Thai/Myanmar border

    A car bomb and a gun fight wreaked havoc in Myawaddy Township in Myanmar last night. The car bomb, suspected to have been left in a pickup truck, exploded at an immigration building near the border with Tak province in Thailand. The remains of the pickup truck suspected of carrying the bomb were found near a border checkpoint. After the…

  • World News

    Chiang Rai business and tourism sectors weigh reopening Myanmar border bridge

    A Chiang Rai commerce official hosted a meeting yesterday for business and tourism sectors to discuss reopening the Mae Sai district’s border crossing with Myanmar. The first Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge connecting the two countries there has been closed ever since Covid-19 hit Thailand in 2020. Since then, Mae Sai has lost a hundred billion baht per year, according to Pakaimas…

  • World News

    Former leader Suu Kyi breaks silence, urges Burmese to ‘be united’

    In rare comments, the former leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has called on the Burmese people to be united. According to a Reuters report, the comments were confirmed by a source close to Suu Kyi’s legal proceedings. Suu Kyi, along with the democratically elected government, was ousted by a military coup on February 1 last year. The former…

  • World News

    Myanmar grants amnesty to 1,600 prisoners, no political detainees released

    Myanmar’s military government granted amnesty to over 1,600 prisoners, including 42 foreigners, during the country’s New Year’s holiday from April 13-16. The figure is small compared to the 23,000 prisoners released during the holiday last year. Despite Myanmar’s ruling general’s promise to restore peace in the country this year, no political detainees were released. “As part of the celebration of…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand aims to employ army of 150,000 migrant workers to solve labour shortage

    Thailand is looking to bring in more labourers from neighbouring countries with the help of recruitment agencies, as the government seeks to employ an army of around 150,000 foreign workers to make up for the country’s low percentage of people willing to do manual labour jobs. But the general public is worried about the clutter and spread of Covid-19 from…

  • World News

    US arrests 3 Thais, yakuza chief for planning to supply missiles to Burmese rebels

    US authorities revealed yesterday that they have arrested three Thai men and a Japanese yakuza organised crime leader in New York City on April 4 – 5. The men are accused of trafficking heroin and methamphetamine, as well as attempting to acquire surface-to-air missiles for rebel groups in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Takeshi Ebizawa, Sompak Raksaranee, Somphop Sigsiri and Suksan…

  • World News

    Human Rights Watch rebukes Australia for meeting with Myanmar junta chief

    Yesterday, Human Rights Watch accused Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar of “lending credibility” to Myanmar’s junta government. HRW’s criticism came after the ambassador met with the junta’s chief Min Aung Hlaing and of Myanmar’s state-owned media outlets on Wednesday to discuss “cooperation” in various sectors. HRW Myanmar researcher Manny Maung said the meeting has hurt global efforts to hold the chief…

  • Thailand News

    Burmese continue to flood across Thai-Myanmar border, fleeing unrest

    Police raided a house in the northern province of Chiang Rai yesterday to find 71 Burmese migrants hiding inside. A Thai man who was also inside the house told police he was hired to pick up the migrants who had illegally crossed over the border from Myanmar and transport them to the house. The migrants told police they were heading…

  • World News

    More Karen flee Myanmar to Thai border, Myanmar arrests Karen journalist

    Around 1,000 Karen hill tribe people crossed the border into Thailand on Saturday, only for Thai authorities to send them back, according to an official from a refugee camp. This month, over 10,000 Karen from Myanmar’s Kayin state have fled after clashes between Karen rebels and Myanmar’s military. Now, Burmese police have arrested a reporter for the Karen Information Centre.…

  • World News

    Asia News Today | Japanese yen drops to a seven year low

    Nearly 9,000 soldiers from the Philippines and US are participating in the largest-ever joint military drills as the two longtime allies do some high-level sabre-rattling amid fresh tensions in the disputed South China Sea. Filipino and American soldiers will take part in the 12 day military exercises across the main Filipino island of Luzon. Philippine military chief welcomed soldiers from…

  • World News

    Asia News Today | Both black boxes now found on China plane & lockdown in Shanghai

    The latest from the crash site of the Boeing 737 in southern China, more threats from the Burmese Junta, one of the largest cities in the world heads into a Covid lockdown and vanishing glaciers in Indonesia, yes Indonesia.   Recovery crews at the site of the China Eastern Boeing 737 that crashed last Monday, have found the second black…

  • World News

    On anniversary of bloodshed, Myanmar army chief vows to “annihilate” opponents

    Days after human rights groups published an extensive report accusing Myanmar’s junta chief of targeting unarmed protestors, the Burmese chief vowed today to “annihilate” opponents of the junta. Today is the anniversary of Myanmar’s most violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, said the military will “no longer negotiate… and annihilate until the end” groups fighting…

  • World News

    New report “Nowhere is Safe” accuses Myanmar of sniper attacks

    A human rights group, along with Yale Law School’s Scholl Center, accuse Myanmar’s junta chief of creating a special command that deployed snipers to kill unarmed protestors. The groups say this was to create fear. The Scholl Center and Fortify Rights investigated leaked documents and 128 testimonies from survivors, medical workers, witnesses and former military and police personnel, on violence…

  • World News

    Myanmar calls US Rohingya genocide accusation “far from reality”

    The United States announced on Monday it will classify Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya ethnic group in 2017 as a genocide. Now, Myanmar has hit back. Its foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday that the United States’ remarks are “far from realities”, claiming the United States made the decision based on “unreliable and unverifiable” sources. In 2018, the US…

  • World News

    Asia News Today | China plane crash latest & HK looking to relax restrictions

    Investigators are now trying to piece together the final moments of a Boeing 737 flight in southern China yesterday before it plummeted into a hilly area as it was approaching Guangzhou. The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 jet, flight MU5735, carrying 132 people crashed in Wuzhou. The sudden nosedive of the plane has left aircraft accident specialists baffled as authorities…

  • World News

    US says Rohingya violence was ‘genocide’ as Asean envoy meets Myanmar junta leaders

    US President Joe Biden has determined that the violence against the Rohingya minority committed by Myanmar’s military in 2017 amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity, a US official told Reuters on Sunday. The move comes as a special Asean envoy begins three days of visits with junta officials in Myanmar, aiming to begin a peace process. The US Secretary…

  • World News

    Asia News Today | More North Korea missiles, ‘genocide’ in Myanmar

    North Korea has conducted another missile launch, this time using a multiple rocket launch system, the latest in a busy time for North Korean missile testers. The statement from the South Korean military didn’t specify how far the rocket got, the direction it was fired, or the exact type of rockets or weapons launched, but said they’re constantly monitoring the…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Chiang Rai officials detain 12 Chinese nationals after illegal border crossings

    Border officials in the northern province of Chiang Rai have caught 12 Chinese nationals, in 3 separate operations, after the men entered Thailand illegally. According to a Bangkok Post report, the arrests happened in the Chiang Khong and Chiang Saen districts of the province in recent days. The detainees claimed they worked in casinos in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos and…

  • World News

    Thailand is the 61st happiest country in the world

    On a list of 146 countries on the World Happiness Index, Thailand ranks at 61. Finland was ranked the happiest country, while Afghanistan was ranked least happy. Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world for five years in a row. An editor of the World Happiness Report said after the Covid-19 pandemic, all three acts labeled “acts…

  • World News

    Myanmar to reopen April 17 to travellers from abroad

    After two years, Myanmar will finally allow international tourists to enter the country starting April 17. Visitors must be fully vaccinated, and will be required to quarantine for a week, according to the country’s health ministry. They will also have to take two RT-PCR tests. Apart from the ongoing violence against its own citizens and the current military government unrecognised…

  • World News

    Thailand to donate 1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Myanmar

    Thailand plans to donate 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Myanmar. The first order of 500,000 doses arrived in the neighbouring country on March 12. The delivery date for the next order has yet been announced. Myanmar is the first country Thailand has donated locally-made Covid-19 vaccines to. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Thanee Saengrat, shared…

  • Thailand News

    Thai-Myanmar bridge bombed, impacting trade between the countries

    After an anti-government in Myanmar bombed a bridge between Thailand’s Mae Sot and Myawaddy on March 11, trade between the two countries has been impacted. The event has resulted in a decrease in the number of Thai transport trucks passing via the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Tak, northern Thailand. Earlier this week, a temporary bridge was built to assist…

  • World News

    UN High Commissioner accuses Myanmar’s army of war crimes, including burning alive

    In a new report, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights accused Myanmar’s army of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including burning women and children alive in Kayah State. Kayah State is home to mainly people of the Kareni, or ‘Red Karen’ ethnic group, one of the many ethnic groups fighting for autonomy in Myanmar. The report claimed the…

  • World News

    Asia News Today | Taiwanese army reserves on high alert

    Hundreds of Taiwanese army reserves have carried out training exercises after a call from the Taiwanese president calling for “unity” as the island keeps an eye on China’s reaction to the invasion of Ukraine. Taiwan has kept its military reservists on high alert over the past year.About 400 personnel took part in target training and combat simulations yesterday in efforts…

  • World News

    Kanchanaburi fishery official allegedly smuggled migrants from Myanmar

    Police caught a fishery official at a checkpoint in Kanchanaburi province allegedly smuggling three migrant women from Myanmar into Thailand. Police say the official confessed to illegal transporting the women across the border. All were taken to Muang district police for legal proceedings. The Burmese women were charged with illegal entry and the official with helping foreigners enter the country…

  • World News

    Myanmar junta revokes citizenship for National Unity Government members

    Myanmar’s junta government announced today that it revoked the citizenships of several members of the country’s opposition government, which it considers a ‘terrorist’ group. This ‘opposition’ is mainly composed of the previously elected government that were overthrown on February 1, 2021. The Bangkok Post did not report the total number of members whose citizenships were revoked. But it included the…

  • World News

    United States will invite ‘non-political’ Myanmar representative to summit

    A spokesman for the US State Department announced yesterday that the United States supports ASEAN’s decision to invite a ‘non-political’ representative from Myanmar’s junta-ruled government to a summit in Washington this month. The spokesman said that it too will invite a ‘non-political’ representative from Myanmar, in order to hold the country accountable for not following a consensus about human rights…

  • World News

    Famous actor released from jail in Myanmar following sentencing for anti-coup influence

    The famous Burmese model and actor detained by the Myanmar junta for his role in the mass anti-coup protests has been pardoned and released. 25 year old Paing Takhon, who is also famous in Thailand, was arrested last year for his influence in the country’s pro-democracy movement following the February 2021 military coup. He had been charged for dissent against…

  • Thailand video news

    Thailand News Update | Thai evacuees from Ukraine test positive

    Thai police raided a home suspected of being the headquarters for an illegal gambling website that swindled more than 100 million baht from South Korean victims. Officers arrested four South Korean men and a Thai woman who was renting the home in Samut Prakan, just southeast of Bangkok. The suspects face charges of organising, advertising, and inviting people to gamble…

  • World News

    UN expert claims Russia, China, and Serbia arming Myanmar junta against civilians

    A United Nations human rights expert released a report on Tuesday saying Russia, China, and Serbia are supplying weapons to Myanmar’s junta government, knowing they will be used against civilians. The human rights expert, Thomas Andrews, said Russia and China are providing the junta with fighter jets. Myanmar’s military and Russia’s foreign ministry couldn’t be reached by Reuters on time…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand’s businesses appeal to government to lower labour import cost

    Thai businesses say they need more workers, and have appealed to the Labour Ministry to reduce costs of importing migrant workers from surrounding countries like Myanmar and Cambodia. Labour ministers said business operators are concerned that if not enough workers are brought in on time, their businesses won’t be able to meet orders and will have to pay fines. PM…